Academy Dreams
Hamilton Hall, a brick building with a white clock tower, on a summer day

USCGA · Life at the academy · Year 4 of 4

First class yearU.S. Coast Guard Academy · First class

What year 4 of 4 at USCGA looks like: milestones, training, privileges and the service commitment, from official USCGA pages.

Hamilton Hall at the Coast Guard Academy, July 2008. Photo: US Coast Guard Academy via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

What this year is like

First class cadets train as junior officers in the summer, hold every leadership position in the Corps and learn their first assignments at Billet Night.

Duties
"The Corps leads the Corps." Every first class cadet holds a formal position, such as Regimental Staff Officer, Company Commander, Department Head, or Division Officer. The senior cadet is the Regimental Commander, and "All positions rotate three times a year"12.

Key milestones and events

  • Junior-officer summer
  • Regimental Commander
  • Billet Night
Graduation traditions
New Ensigns carry two silver dollars, one for the Anchor Cadet and one for the first person to salute them3.

Academics and training

Summer training
assignments aboard ships, at Sectors, or at Air Stations, where "your focus... is to function as a junior officer." Some cadets earn qualifications such as Officer of the Deck on a Fast Response Cutter1.

Privileges

USCGA’s public pages don’t publish privileges for this class year, so we don’t list any. Ask the academy.

Service selection

Service selection
At Billet Night, an annual tradition, "First Class Cadets learn where they will go for their first assignment in the Coast Guard"3. USCGA's pages don't give the month. "Ninety percent of new Ensigns go to sea as Deck Watch Officers or Engineers in Training," and the rest go to flight school or shore units4.

Service commitment

When it becomes binding: We didn't find this point stated on the official pages we reviewed. Ask the academy.

After graduation: Coast Guard ensign5. Minimum obligation: "5 years"5.

Sources

  1. First Class Year (uscga.edu)
  2. USCGA: Mission (uscga.edu)
  3. Traditions (uscga.edu)
  4. USCGA: Your First Assignment (uscga.edu)
  5. USCGA (uscga.edu)

Official pages change. Confirm details with USCGA before you plan around them.

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